The ability to name is surely one of the great intellectual leaps of humankind. This is vividly illustrated in an extract of the uplifting poetry of the Kato Indians, an account of genesis:
In biology too, bestowing an identity is a notable event. Naming species and genes springs to mind. Gene designators often eschew the sober approach (such as SLC26A3: solute carrier family 26, member 3) for a Kato-like 'they do' system that describes a mutant phenotype. Thus, a Sunday driver mutant messes up intracellular traffic in Drosophila; a Cerberus mutant produces two-headed frog embryos, emulating the dog that guards the gates of hell in Greek mythology; and a heartless pinhead mutation results with zebrafish embryos with missing hearts and pointed heads (there is, by the by, a definite sociological thread in this topic).
Naming ideas is a little trickier than naming things, but it can be equally important. This ...
